Love Poems by Famous Authors

Some feelings have no era. The ache of wanting someone, the fire of being desired, the sweetness and terror of surrendering to another human being these have not changed since lovers first spoke them. This collection gathers centuries of that eternal conversation, from the desperate balcony declarations of Shakespeare's star-crossed youth to the muscular yearning of the Romantic poets and beyond. Here you'll find Lord Byron's rebellious passion, Robert Burns' rustic tenderness, Tennyson's aristocratic melancholy, and Browning's fierce devotion. The medieval legend of Tristram and Iseult renders love as fate and poison, while the balcony scene shows us love as theater, as comedy, as the most dangerous game two people can play. Each voice carries its own music, its own wounds, its own particular way of breaking and being reborn. For anyone who has ever loved or wanted to love, these poems are proof that no one has ever been alone in this feeling.